The city of Bend is asking residents to cut back on outdoor water use as temperatures are expected to hit triple-digits this weekend.
Bend said residents can relieve stress on the municipal water system by fixing leaks and refraining from watering lawns, filling outdoor pools or washing cars.
Related: A chlorine shortage could put Oregon’s drinking water at risk
The use reductions in Bend are voluntary for now, but the city said in a statement that conservation measures taken now could prevent mandatory restrictions later this summer.
Bend joins other Oregon cities encouraging residents to conserve water amid regional and nationwide chlorine shortages, and punishing drought.
A sprinkler waters the lawn of a home in this file photo. The city of Bend is asking residents to cut back on outdoor water.
Jae C. Hong / AP
An electrical failure at a chemical facility in Longview, Washington, has stretched regional chlorine supplies thin. And that came on the heels of a fire last summer that destroyed a chemical plant in Louisiana that provides the majority of market-ready chlorine tablets in the U.S.
Officials in Bend and with the state have emphasized that tap water remains safe for drinking, cooking and bathing.
